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Roofing Contractor at IRE 2019 Nashville

Welcome to Roofing Contractor's coverage of the International Roofing Expo (IRE), the preeminent roofing construction and maintenance event. Roofing professionals gather to experience and learn the newest products, best practices and innovations essential to success.

The expansive show floor and extensive educational program provide the best opportunity to discover the latest trends, advances in technology and best practices for business growth. The IRE brings top suppliers, unique resources and unbeatable networking in the best educational conference in the business.

Be sure to check this page during the show! Roofing Contractor will be updating with IRE news, Show Dailies, and photo galleries.

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Highlights from Last Year's IRE

Places To Eat

Not in the mood for a $65 filet mignon? Hit this cafeteria-style “meat and three” for a more down-to-earth dining experience — and much smaller bill.

Bourbon Steak, 201 8th Ave. S., 34th floor, 629-208-8440

Located on the 34th floor of the JW Marriott, the restaurant serves amazing views of Nashville’s skyline in every direction alongside its stead and seafood offerings.

Butcher & Bee, 902 Main St., 843-619-0202

Yes, there’s one in in Charleston and yes, its owners are the same. However, the menu is different. The Nashville location concentrates on vegetable-focused small plates. (Don’t worry, it also has sandwiches).

Chauhan Ale & Masala House, 123 12th Ave. N., 615-242-8426

The menu reflects Chef Maneet Chauhan’s Indian roots, but doesn’t ignore local southern flavor. Examples? Burgers and grilled fish tacos are on the menu alongside dishes like Malabari seafood cioppino.

Char Restaurant, 3988 Hillsboro Pike, 615-891-7181

A new addition to the Nashville scene, the Mississippi-based steakhouse opened in September. In addition to steaks, options include a shrimp and grits dish and sushi-grade tuna.

City House, 1222 4th Ave. N, 615-736-5838

Features a rustic, southern take on Italian fare. In 2016, Chef/Owner Tandy Wilson was the first Nashville chef to net a James Beard Foundation Award, which is a big deal in the culinary world.

Emmy Squared, 404 12th Ave. S., 615-248-2662

A popular pizza and burger joint in New York City, Emmy Squared recently ventured out of the Big Apple to open a Nashville location. The restaurant features sandwiches but specializes in “Detroit-style” square pizza with red and white sauce options.

Henrietta Red, 1200 4th Ave. N., 615-490-8042

Opened in 2017, the restaurant and bar is for those in the mood for seafood (with seasonal veggies) and a glass of wine. Also features a popular raw bar.

Husk, 37 Rutledge St., 615-256-6565

Consistently voted one of the top restaurants in Nashville, Husk offers a celebration of traditional southern ingredients.

Kanye Prime, 1103 McGavock St., 615-259-0050

Considered the standard in Nashville, Kanye Primie features several new bars, plenty of private dining space and more. Menu items include a house-made bacon wrapped in maple cotton candy and Wagyu strip steak from the Greg Norman Ranch in Australia.

Louie’s Wine Dive, 101 17th Ave. S., 615-866-9172

Despite the name, this wine-focused restaurant and bar is anything but a dive. Dishes include four-pork gnocchi, steak frites, and tuna nachos.

Loveless Café, 8400 Hwy 100, Nashville, 615-646-9700

The secret recipe of Loveless Cafe homemade biscuits began in the early 1950's and remains unchanged. Sit down at one of the Nashville area's most beloved diners where Southern staples unite guests. It’s about a half-hour outside of downtown Nashville.

Margot Café & Bar, 1017 Woodland St., 615-227-4668

Menu draws inspiration from rustic French and Italian influences. Pan-roasted chicken is a top choice for many.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que, 410 4th Ave. S., 615-288-0880

Almost dead center in downtown Nashville, Martin’s Bar-B-Que — featuring whole hog barbecuing daily — has been called a “temple to smoked meats.” It is located in a 13,000-square-foot, 500-seat restaurant, bar and backyard beer garden.

Mop/Broom Mess Hall, 1300 3rd Ave. N., 615-689-5224

A second project spearheaded by City House’s Tandy Wilson, this new restaurant opened in September in the former Southern Broom & Mop Co. warehouse. A casual vibe for digging into barbecue chicken and other southern staples.

Nicky’s Coal Fired, 5026 Centennial Blvd., 615-678-4289

Sure, the pasta is amazing, but the stars of the show here are the pizzas cooked on a coal-fired oven named “Enrico.”

Otaku Ramen, 1104 Division St., 615-942-8281

If you’ve never had real ramen, consider heading to this ramen-focused restaurant where you will have plenty of choice when it comes to broth and noodle-based dishes.

Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, 123 Ewing Dr. #3, 615-226-9442

Serving legendary spicy chicken for more than 70 years, topping several lists as a Nashville favorite.

Rolf & Daughters, 700 Taylor St., 615-866-9897

An award-winning and very popular choice due in large part to its handmade pasta, among other menu items. Rustic décor and large array of craft cocktails.

Saltine Restaurant, 1918 West End Ave., 615-327-4410

The emphasis is on seafood and oysters, but Saltine Restaurant features a wide-ranging menu for lunch and dinner.

Sunda, 592 12th Ave. S., 615-610-7566

Pan-Asian restaurant and bar Sunda recently opened in Nashville (its other location is Chicago). The menu at the 250-seat restaurant draws influences from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Taqueria la Juquilita, 5913 Morrow Road, 615-524-9053

Taquerias are aplenty in the area, but atop the list for many is this one. Just remember: cash only.

Thai Esane, 907 12th Ave. S., 615-454-5373

Thai food enthusiasts will want to add this to their “to-do” list while in Nashville. The restaurant cranks out traditional Thai dishes along with special family recipes.

True Food Kitchen, 3996 Hillsboro Pike, 615-383-7333

A Phoenix-based restaurant that opened its Nashville location last September. The restaurant is for those who are especially health conscious, emphasizing vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.

Woolworth On 5th,221 5th Ave. N., Nashville, 615-891-1361

Located in a former F.W. Woolworth department store — where some of the first lunch counter sit-ins took place during the 1960s civil rights movement in Nashville — the multi-level restaurant offers an upbeat atmosphere with food, music and more.

Things To Do

Downtown Nashville offers plenty of opportunity to satisfy your cultural palate with live music and theater scene.

Tip: Nashville’s B-cycle is a fun and easy way to move about town. Buy a 24-hour membership ($5) at any of the nearly 40 B-cycle stations and get an unlimited number of trips 60 minutes or less during your access period. Just be aware of your time: If your trip goes over 60 minutes you start incurring additional fees.

A rich history dating to the late 1800s, the venue (home of the Grand Ole Opry for about three decades) has hosted an impressive list of guests ranging from President Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Houdini to Elvis and Beck. Shows are still held here. Tours are available daily.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Tennessee State Capitol sits on the highest hill in the central city. Designed in the Greek Revival Style by architect William Strickland who moved to Nashville from Philadelphia, it is his last and perhaps his finest work. Built with Tennessee limestone, the building employs the Ionic and Corinthian orders, the two most highly regarded in Greek architecture. Also on Capitol Hill are various other monuments including the tomb of President and Mrs. James K. Polk, an equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson by Clark Mills, monuments to Civil War hero Sam Davis and World War I hero Alvin York, and six cedar trees planted to commemorate the six million Jews who died as a result of the Holocaust.

A visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will surround you with the sweet sounds of the south. Memorabilia like stage outfits from Taylor Swift’s1989 tour and Elvis’ 24-karat gold-leafed piano is enough to make you want to break out in twangy song. If you go, plan on a few hours to fully appreciate the museum’s 350,000 square feet of galleries, interactive displays, and education rooms. Tours are available, too.

Learn more about this iconic letterpress poster shop located in the lobby of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The tour of legendary Hatch Show Print will engage your senses: Listen to the presses crank as you learn more about the history of Hatch Show Print, see the brilliantly colored posters that put the shop on the map in the last century and compare them with the posters printed today for your favorite entertainers, handle some of the tools of the trade and smell the ink as you pull your own keepsake print in our print shop-within-a-print shop Space for Design. Tours start daily at 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 3:30 p.m., with an additional 11:00 a.m. tour on Saturday and Sunday.

The Musicians Hall of Fame honors musicians from all genres of music, who have played on thousands of iconic recordings. The Museum exhibits take you on a tour of cities that greatly influenced music culture. The newest addition, The Grammy Museum Gallery, is a 9,000 square foot, interactive exhibit where visitors learn about every aspect of the music industry from songwriting, playing instruments and singing to producing and engineering.

The Johnny Cash Museum features the world's largest collection of Johnny Cash artifacts and memorabilia in the world. Walk through the life of the Man in Black depicted in interactive exhibits, films and much more. Also features a Bongo Java Coffee Shop and Museum Cafe. Officially endorsed by the Cash Family. The museum recently received the coveted AAA GEM rating; the highest bestowed on an attraction.

The Parthenon, 2500 West End Ave., Centennial Park, Nashville, 615-862-8431

The Parthenon stands proudly as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville's premier urban park. The re-creation of the 42-foot statue Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals. Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece also serves as Nashville's art museum. The focus of the Parthenon's permanent collection is a group of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan. Additional gallery spaces provide a venue for a variety of temporary shows and exhibits. Be advised, however, it is closed on Mondays.

There’s nothing like a backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry House; it’s a must-see for everyone in Music City! Walk in the footsteps of country music’s superstars and get an exclusive look at what happens behind the scenes of the show that made country music famous!

Guests will step into immersive iconic scenes and musical performances that are unique to this attraction. Get face to face with your favorite musician, in the first all music themed Madame Tussauds, featuring the best in country, pop, rock, and more.

The stars on the Walk of Fame, spanning genres and generations, honor those who make, create, record, perform, and present music to and for the world. The free attraction is outside and open to the public.

The Frist Art Museum opened in April 2001, and since that time has hosted a spectacular array of art from the region and from around the world. Unlike any traditional museum you’ve ever visited, the Frist Art Museum has become a magnet for Nashville’s rapidly expanding visual arts scene. Among other things, it features exhibitions schedule that has new art flowing through the magnificent art deco building every six to eight weeks.

Constructed in 1853 in a breathtaking Greek Revival style, the Belle Meade Plantation is known as the "Queen of the Tennessee Plantations." At the center of the plantation is the mansion (its columns are peppered with bullet holes from the Civil War), where guides dressed in period costumes offer tours of the mansion's antebellum-style interior. Explore the grounds, which are home to the country's first and best thoroughbred breeding farms (the visitor center is modeled after a traditional Southern paddock) as well as the renowned Iroquois Steeplechase, the oldest in the U.S. Located about 8 miles southwest of downtown Nashville, Belle Meade Plantation is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Constructed in 1821 for President Andrew Jackson, this Greek Revival mansion now stands as a National Historic Landmark and a preserved window into the president's home life. Along the guided tour you'll see the main house, the kitchen, an original log cabin, Jackson's tomb and the Old Hermitage Church. Another popular exhibit tells the story of the 150 slaves that worked on the grounds from 1804 to 1865. Since much of the tour is spent outside, visitors are recommended to wear comfortable shoes and dressfor the weather. Located about 12 miles east of downtown, The Hermitage is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If you love history, slot some time for a tour of Belmont Mansion – the largest house museum in Nashville. This beautiful Italian-style villa was constructed in the 1850s for Adelicia Acklen, one of the wealthiest women in the country at the time and, according to some, Nashville's own Scarlett O'Hara. A tour of the 19,000-square-foot mansion leads visitors through rooms ornately decorated with 19th-century antiques and lavish art. Sitting on Belmont University's campus, a little more than 3 miles southwest of downtown Nashville, Belmont Mansion is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission costs range from $15 for adults to $5 for children ages 6 through 12.

Fans of whiskey and bourbon should pencil in a stop at Nelson's Green Brier Distillery on a visit to Nashville. The distillery's roots reach back to the 1800s, when Charles Nelson, a German immigrant, started producing whiskey in the late 1800s in Greenbrier, Tenn. It became so popular he ended up selling about 2 million bottles of whiskey in 1885 alone. He died in 1891 and his wife Louisa took over, though in 1909, Prohibition forced her to close. Nearly 100 years later, the couple's great-great-great grandsons, brothers Andy and Charlie Nelson, restored the business and brought the operation to Nashville. Today, the venue features the distillery, a tasting room, an event space and a gift and bottle shop, and tours are offered daily. Located about 2 miles northwest of Broadway, Nelson's Green Brier Distillery is open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with tours running every half-hour. Tours, which include tastings, cost $11 and last around 45 minutes.

Open year-round, Nashville Farmers Market is home to a variety of farmers, artisans, restaurateurs, crafters, and more. Since it began in the early 1800s, the market has been a must-see in Nashville. The Farmers Market hosts up to 100 farmers, depending on the season, along with dairies, cheese-makers, and other selling their products. Inside the market are 16 restaurants and shops. Whether you’re looking for gourmet pizza, Jamaican specialties, or anything in between, you’re likely to find it here.

Along with its signature handmade clusters, the Goo Goo Shop offers a wide range of vintage candies and other confections as well as Music City-themed souvenirs. Goo Goo clusters have been a southern favorite for more than a century. These delicious confections feature chocolate, marshmallow, caramel and peanuts. The 4,000-square-foot retail space also displays a variety of historic artifacts.

Honky Tonk Highway: Lower Broadway Ave.

A honky tonk is an establishment that contains at least one rockin' stage, cold beverages, and a party that lasts all day, everyday — literally every SINGLE day. Nashville's Honky Tonk Highway, located on Lower Broadway, is a row of these honky tonks that pump live music into the streets from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. One of the best parts: it doesn't cost a thing. Meaning no cover charge. Just a few of the honky tonks are AJ’s Good Time Bar, Honky Tonk Central, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, Rippy’s Smokin’ Bar & Grill, Robert’s Western World, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, and Whiskey Bent Saloon.

Music Row, 16th Ave. S. and 17th Ave. S.

Take a tour of Music Row and visit historic RCA Studio B, the famous recording studio where Elvis recorded more than 200 songs. Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold, and many more recorded classic hits here. Tours of RCA Studio B depart daily from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The area also offers an assortment of bars, restaurants and gift shops.